News

Civil Aviation Authority crackdown on Travel Republic

THE Civil Aviation Authority has launched a criminal action against online travel agent Travel Republic because it does not participate in a government scheme designed to protect holidaymakers stranded abroad.

The CAA is clamping down on operators without such protections following the collapse in the autumn of XL Leisure.

At the centre of the legal action is Travel Republic's refusal to obtain an Air Travel Organisers' Licensing bond.

The scheme is designed to provide funding to pay for the repatriation of travellers if their tour operator or airline collapses. Package-holiday groups are obliged to lodge millions of pounds with the CAA as a bond to cover such an event.